30 Androids, Gynoids, and Mechanoids

The Generator/Capacitor droid is a low tech and not uncommon type of mechanoid used in industrial, maintenance, and military support roles. While operating, some droids lack the luxury of shutting down for a recharge cycle, and are not able to connect to an umbilical power supply. The Generator/Capacitor droid is a walking battery charger, fueled either by large power cells or possessing it's own internal generator. These droids are large and heavy, and have low emphasis on intelligence. Most are treated in a derogatory fashion, and sentient machines are loathe to use them.

G/C Droids are always mechanoids due to the size of the extra battery/capacity power.

2. Military Intelligence Liaison Android

One occupation that most people don't think of androids having is that of espionage and general spycraft. The military intelligence liaison android is a very high end machine, designed to look exactly like a human being, sometimes a specific human being, to infiltrate and gather information, as well as performing whatever acts are required of it. The hardware used in the construction of these androids is on the cutting edge, and many work as data compilers, profilers, and processors of incoming sensitive information. In casual conversation, liaison androids (and the rare gynoid) are charming, polite, and quizzically humerous.

The vast majority of Liaison droids are androids, and drawn on a phenometric alpha type, physically strong, quick witted, and handsome. The rare gynoid follows the same layout, a phenometric alpha minus type (with Alpha plus being Amazon).

Robots have been assisting in police work for years, and will continue to do so for years to come. The police robots fall into two categories, the mechanoid wojeks and the human synthetics. The android/gynoid models are designed to be human friendly beat cops and go into the worse parts of the slums.

The majority of police robots are cheap produced mechanoids, the rest are androids. Only a very small number of gynoids are made, because even in the Cosmic Era there is still some gender biasing, even when its making machines that look like women. For more on this this topic please see Law Enforcement in the Cosmic Era

4. Medical Assistant

Good help can be hard to find, and medicine in the cosmic Era isn't the same as it is today. There is a massive rift in the medical system, a split between private hospitals and public run hospitals, and it has caused overcrowding in the public system. Good medical professionals go into the private sector leaving the public hospitals short of manpower. Gynoid nurses are mass produced and used to stock these understaffed locations. The autonurses are a common feature, and after the heavy use they experience, they have short working lifespans before they are scrapped or sold on the secondary market.

There is a perception that robots are inferior caregivers, but studies found that gynoids were the best received robots, and surprisingly mechanoid nurse assistants even outscored android medical assistants. Black hospitals also use robot medical assistants, but these are accordingly more expensive and most can easily pass for human.

5. Auto-Surgeon

Spider like and intimidating, the Auto-surgeon is a sprawling mechanoid robot devoted entirely to the pursuit of taking people apart and putting them back together. The military, public hospitals, and other quantity over quality agencies employ these bots for their basic, routine, and triage operations. Often working in tandem with a medical L/AISC these bots perform all sorts of surgeries, from mundane out patient operations to implanting cyberware and repairing combat/war injuries.

The auto-surgeons are immobile mechanoids, and some weight as much as several tons. While the machines are gruesome to watch, being attended by their entourages of auto-nurses, they are effective. Most patients are sedated and blindfolded before being rolled into an automatic surgery session.

6. Servitor Mechanoid

Servitors are menial labor robots intended to work in repetitive, but not very stressful jobs. They are weak and easily overpowered, and their intellect is often crude and low. Servitors operate dangerous machinery, work in hazardous environments, and do dangerous jobs like disarming bombs and disposing of mutagens.

The servitor was one of the mechanical innovations that supported the Second Renaissance. The machines have also become the proverbial butt monkeys of the Cosmic Era. They are mocked, pushed into robot gladiator combat, and the subject of public ridicule and often violence in the Favelas. Inside the arcos, servitors are seen as just part of the arco-maintenance system.

7. Pilot/Navigator

It is common for autopilot robots to be petite female models. The gynoid autopilot is noted for its cautious and safe piloting skills, and these units are used for everything from handling materials handling vehicles, mass transit vehicles, and civilian aircraft. These units are unnecessary as technology exists to have these vehicles operate themselves but it was found that people were leery of vehicles that had no visible controller. The Autopilot is typically the most sophisticated robot that is available for civilian purchase.

The military and other organizations use autopilots, as their skills translate over to piloting mecha, spycraft, aerospace vehicles, and these military grade autopilots (typically paired with an organic pilot for legal reasons) are the best fliers in the skies. Only the gifted superhumans being designed and engineered to be pilots from the womb can match or beat them.

8. Salvage Droid

The Salvage droid, a monstrous looking mechanical monster designed to pull apart rubble and shattered machinery is a creature born from the demands from the metal recycling and scavenging industry. Some areas were too dangerous for humans, so the robots would be sent in, but even these humanoid workers weren't up to the task. The Salvage droid is the size of a small mecha, resembles a spider legged crab, and has ripping claws, a hydraulic ram, and cutting torches for dismantling. The salvage droids have rather sophisticated intellects, to keep them from cutting up things that are more valuable for what they are rather than their price per ton.

The military uses Salvage droids as well, mostly in recovering damaged vehicles, and in salvaging destroyed mecha and power armor suits for their components. This is generally distressing, because any casualties on the battlefield are dispatched by the droid, and salvaged for their equipment.

9. Construction Bots

There were two classes of robots that made the Second Renaissance possible, along with the rise of the second generation arcos, geofronts, and engineering marvels like the O2 Towers: the skinny Servitors and the heavy Builders. The construction bots, along with industrial mecha, and the skinnies all made it possible. With the force multiplying ability of construction robots, and industrial hardsuits, an arco can be built in as little as 2-3 years, demi-arcos in less than a year. Construction bots are either built job specific, or have a central AI/Power core with modular arms and equipment mounting points so they can switch out between different job needs.

The military complex also uses construction bots, with the machines building things like the impressive Federation Class aerial battleships, and military installations. These machines are highly skilled and guarded, since the theft of one could compromise billions of dollars of R&D or be used to reverse engineer the items it knows how to make.

10. Rosey the Robot Maid

Cooking, cleaning and time management are still menial frustrations in the Cosmic Era. The Domestic Gynoid and occasional android is the Cosmic Era answer. These inexpensive, sometimes plasticine looking robots, are commonly used for cooking, cleaning and other tasks within a household. Heavy CogNet users, and regular users of immersion tech almost always have a domestic bot hanging around to keep things up when they are plugged in for hours everyday.

There are higher end domestic droids with larger and more expansive intellects and can be upgraded to have sexual functions, but these are a poor man's FemBot.

11. Data Entry and tech support specialist

Colloquially known as a Mr. Data, DETS droids are used to automate and run information centers, monitor server farms and work in customer support and other centers where data is processed and heavy remote human interaction is handled. These robots are lifelike in their mental programming, designed to be helpful and friendly.

Most people have a seething hatred of the DETS droids because they are considered low end droids and while they have a large vocabulary, they are lacking in cognitive function, and are polite to the point of hilarity.

12. Personal Assistant Droid

Sometimes an organix just cannot be trusted with the information, safety, or personal image of some high profile people. It isn't uncommon for politicians, scientists, corporate officials and other high ranking, powerful, and influential people to have these high end androids and gynoids. The PA droid is intelligent, discrete, knowledgeable of the VIP's operations and details, and would self destruct before allowing themselves to be compromised.

PA Droids are common targets for cyber attacks, and some VIPs will keep more than one, with the publicly seen PA being a decoy or drone droid to draw hostile cyber attacks.

13. Auto-Messenger

The Auto-Messenger is a non-humanoid robot that is equipped with a micro-sized A-pod, and flies from place to place as a more secure method of carrying information. Some automessengers have a small cargo capacity and carry a load as heavy as 20 pounds, typically enough for a small gift, valuable information cargo, or other high value low mass objects. These range from primitive sphere type 'floaters' to the more socially accepted models that are shaped like birds, or large butterflies. These messengers are commonly found inside arcologies, and green zone urban sprawls. In the slums, such machines are more commonly seen as target practice, or have very good ground hugging flight patterns.

A little birdie told me, and it delivered a parcel of cookies made by my mother's domestitron. I miss D-1's cooking, it made the best snickerdoodles. Automessengers are modified and used by assassins, spies, riggers, and cyber hackers, making them a common and double edged sword.

14. Sybarite Droid

The wealthy often like to demonstrate their wealth through conspicuous consumption, and like sports and exotic cars today, the entertainers and media moguls of the Cosmic Era like their entourage cybernetic companions to be tricked out. The sybarite type of droids range from spot on human replicas with extraordinary abilities, or the more common mechanoid designed by a major well known artist, or the robot clad in precious metal.

The Classic Rhapsodists are known for emulating the personal tastes of their predecessor rappers of the Petroleum Eras by having their personal entourage sybarites clad in gold, programmed to be technological producers for their mode of entertainment. Likewise, the Sexlebrity porn mavens have high quality recording and broadcasting abilities built into their sexbot sybarites for producing immersive sex sims.

15. Interpreter/Translator

There are many languages in the Cosmic Era, and with the way languages rise, merge, split, and change over time, there is always a pressing need for skilled translators. Translator robots are commonly used in fringe areas like the contested zones of Europe, the Free Nation of India, and across the Pacific Rim Coalition. These robots might have been sybarites, liaison, or other higher end robots in the past, but many are past their prime, and were retired from their previous positions and reprogrammed to function as translators and guides.

The translators of Free India are famous for their excellent translation abilities and their very ratty appearances. Most have lost half or more of their external carapaces, and have exposed systems.

16. Caretaker Droid

One of the side effects of the chronic shortage of manpower is the neglect of care for many children and the elderly. Caretaker droids were already being experimented with in the Petroleum Era, and became much more common after the Second Renaissance. These droids, typically female and typically older looking humanoid, are designed with a high level of human compatibility, and bedside manner. There is a degree of overlap as the Caretaker Droid shares some roles with the Domestic Droid, and the Medical Assistant.

The Caretaker is more common in mass care facilities, and most large medical centers have both Caretaker droids and Medical Droids for quality of care, though these non-medical droids are uncommon in this role.

17. Probe Droid

Probe droids are commonly used in arco maintenance and inspection, as well as in maintenance and inspection of the spacecraft, aerospace craft and aerial warships deployed by the world superpowers. These droids resemble metal jellyfish and consist of a central pod body, an A-Pod levitator unit, and an array or arms and limbs to carrying tools, sensors and such. These machines drift around, typically at night, inspecting various features of buildings inspecting them for fatigue, making minor repairs, and so forth.

Probe Droids are silent, highly sophisticated, and disliked by the public. These nocturnal machines were built with function first, and little to no effort put into making them interactable. These work in close communication with local AISC systems, and can be compared to an immune system for sentient buildings.

18. Security and Detention Mechanoids

The incarceration industry is big money, with many prisons being operated as profit generating enterprises. Nations and states will willingly pay third party contractors to house their criminals, and there are plenty of corps that have sprung up to take advantage of this. The advantage of mechanoids in this setting is that it limits the amount of corruption that can occur and the robot guards aren't intimidated or disgusted by inmates spitting or throwing feces on them. They dole out prescribed amounts of abuse and deterrent level force to keep the population in check, and if there is a riot and 30 guard bots get trashed, its a business expense, not a PR debacle. Most Security and detention mechanoids are modified wojeks.

There are a few gynoids that are in use in some less savory prisons, where the wardens rewards good inmates and prisoners with access to artificial partners. These fembots have security programming and will reward snitches with sexual favors.

19. Skeletron

The idea of the cheap, easy to produce, economic and efficient killbot has been around for a long time. When the technology advanced enough, the mass produced military robot took it's place in the world arsenals, and the world was forced to adjust accordingly. One of the major reasons for the split in civilian and military grade weaponry was caused by the appearance of mechanical foes like the skeletron in the battlefield. The weapons required to knock down a killbot are excessive and disastrous in the wrong hands.

The Skeletron is a basic level combatant, very tough, but not very bright. They are best when supported by either organic handlers or by higher ranking elite military robots like...

20. Commando Droid

The skeletron is the lowest common denominator, while the Commando Droid is the opposite, the best. The droid is made to look and act human, throwing off the basic tenet of anti-droid warfare, identifying your opponent is a machine. The commando has a much wider variety of skills, is better with improvised tactics, and unlike the skeletron, can handle itself in hand to hand combat and melee without getting butchered. Commando droids typically are subordinate to Liaison droids and organic top brass. There are also degrees of specialization within the category, with their being spotter/target designators, heavy weapons operators, sappers, hackers, and all sorts of other roles the elite mechanical commandos apply their skill to.

The Federation's Sniper Joe commando droid is a very successful, but low key model. The androids work with combined arms teams, a mix of a small number of organic members, roughly equal numbers of Joes, and then a much larger number of skeletrons. This configuration works well in company level engagements.

21. FemmeFatalBot

There is a certain degree of sexism still alive in the Cosmic Era, and it is still not uncommon for women to be discounted and underestimated because of their gender. Some military designers have taken advantage of this bias and created a niche for gynoid infiltrator units. These units are high end, with extensive personality profiles, and skills that range from assassination, intelligence and recon, sabotage and demolitions to local level terrorism and insurgency. These units can often easily escape capture by simply appearing as either human woman, or a sex bot.

The Loken T3 deployed from Germany has proven a valuable unit in subverting Armas cells as well as other sources of instability in Europe. The machines avoid the trope patterns established by the Nipponese 'Battle Angels' who are very potent combat machines designed to look like teenage girls. The Loken T3 is a somewhat larger woman that wouldn't be out of place in a country music bar. That is until it demonstrates its skill with an autorifle or improvised hand to hand combat using a building girder.

22. Autowomb Droid

Vanity is a thing of wonder in the Cosmic Era and there are wealthy people, and some of more modest income who wish to have the joy of children without the 9 month parasitic infestation. The Autowomb droid is a walking talking mechanical uterus designed to bring a child to term and then birth it. The machine in on the line between mechanoid and gynoid, and they are leased rather than bought. The droid is used to give a 'natural' gestation for a baby, rather than the more common static tank that is used in creche and cloning centers.

The original autowombs were designed for non-standard households that wanted children, such as homosexual couples, heavily genemods, people with sterility issues or households with human-robot civil unions.

23. Femiquin

One of the first non-industrial applications of robotics was the creation of Fembots, hitome units, and SexBots. The official in term is Femiquin, but Human Relations Droids is also acceptable. The Femiquin is a gynoid with a vacuous personality, and enhanced sex drive. Femiquins are a big business in the Cosmic Era, and the droids range from borderline mechanoids with a with 'realistic' components to high end units that can easily pass for human. Their male counterparts, Androquins, are much less common and considered somewhat creepy.

The Stepford Company is the high end of Femiquin production, producing machines so lifelike that the only way to discover their nature requires special detectors, or manually chopping open the unit. These Stepfordco units are among the best on the market, and are only inferior to special made and one off femiquin units.

24. iKid

Children are a hot commodity, and having children in the CE can often be demonstrated as a status symbol. An alternate method to having children, and the costs and screenings required, is to purchase an android child. iKids, autokids, electrokids, etc are all available, small framed playful robots designed to look, act, and play like real children. These droids are better behaved, never outgrow their clothing, and have voice commands that allow the owners to stop play programming and to behave like machines.

The iKids are a popular commodity, but sometimes for less savory purposes. There are hackers who have repurposed the small droids to function as spies, walking bombs, etc.

25. Surrogate Drone

The Surrogate Drone was first designed for people to use through the 3rdNet. The machine was able to be 'inhabited' by a human consciousness through an immersion system, and it allowed quadriplegics, paraplegics, and others otherwise unable to walk and move around the ability to do so. It also helped shut-ins, and the immune compromised to explore the outdoors or public environments. It was just a matter of time before the general public started getting in on the action, and surrogacy went on the rise. The use of surrogates has drastically decreased the need for traveling, as surrogate chassis's can be rented and used remotely, something that became very popular in business circles.

Surrogates are physically very accurate machines, but they lack a neo-cortex and have nothing inside their head when they aren't being piloted by a human in the 'net. The surrogate type droid is in major production, and there are base models with standard production templates for faces, and their are custom made models, and everything inbetween. There are no actual requirements that a surrogate resemble its own in any way, so there are men and women with surrogates of different gender, different race, and in some instances, different species, so to better match their favorite programming or fetish.

26. Superior Droid

The average droid is skilled in a very narrow range of skills, with the rest of their abilities are much more mundane and closer to human or subhuman. The Superior Droid or Super Droid is a high end droid that is fitted with an exo-cranial cyberdecks, and have secured links to more external hardware. The Superior droid is related to the archandroid deployed by AISCs and other artificial intelligences, but unlike those units, the superior droid is it's own entity.

Another common name for the superior droid is Seibertronian. A very large percentage of superior droids emote to become sentient, and expand their consciousness into larger and larger amounts of machinery.

27. Cyberhound

The humble dog, man's best friend, has not been immune to the vagaries of the Cosmic Era. The Cyberhound is a mechanical dog, of varying degrees of authenticity. Most cyberhounds are recognizable as being machines, and can be found in a wide variety of occupations. Police use Cyberhounds for tracking, using chemical sensors and other other electri\onc systems to scent tract, find bombs, or even people buried in rubble after a disaster. The military also makes use of mechanical dogs, again for many of the same roles.

A less violent and dangerous use of the cyberhound is the animatron companion. Unlike augmented canines, cyberhounds can be made to human level intelligence without getting into existential crises over their isolated nature and lack of true equal companionship.

28. EyeBorg

The EyeBorg is functionally similar to the auto-messenger, or the probe droid. These spherical mechanoids drift around with their internal A-pod and clusters of cameras and holoprojectors. The EyeBorg can be used as a camera man, a floating advertising point, part of a security system and so forth. Likewise, the EyeBorg can be used as part of a holoprojection system for performance art, media events, and entertainment events.

The EyeBorg has become in many places synonymous with government and corporate propaganda.

29. Political Droid

A rare type of droid, the political droid is associated with a political party that is strongly in power, and it moves about with the mission of observing the populace, machine and otherwise, to ensure that everyone is on the same page of the Party notebook. Dissidents are noted, problems are diagnosed, and information is deployed to where it needs to be. Similar to the Liaison droid, the political droid is more ruthless and skilled in things like interrogation, computer hacking. These droids keep a low profile, when not on their patrol, as they are popular targets for robot headhunters, and for political protesters and insurgents.

The polidroids are more common in the Eurasian Alliance, where the machine is often trusted more than the flesh, given the large number of clones in the nation.

30. Mascot/c\Cartoon character

One of the advantages of robots over humans is that a robot can be made to look like almost anything provided there is enough room inside of it to house the robots components. This means that the felt costumed mascot is a thing of the past, a quaint relic of another age. Mascot droids are the thing, and professional sports teams have cybernetic mascots. Cartoon characters, TV show characters, and such have real world cybernetic counterparts.

One massive advantage of mascot droids is that they are immediately underestimated, and treated like the most childish type of machines. Given the sometimes large size and odd proportion of the characters, the mascot droids can house some impressive hardware, but most are walking data collectors.

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Patterns in surnames: There are many ways a surname could have evolved over centuries. One possibility is migration. A Roman name may have traveled to France and hence to England where it was later Anglicized. Case in point - the surname Lawrence went from Laurentius (Roman) to Laurent (French) to Lawrence (English) and then to Lowry (Scottish). There is also natural etymological evolution. For example, a Middle English spelling may have evolved to a modern English spelling (e.g. Stiward to Stewart). Where did your character's Surname come from?